Disgraced Jedi general Jare, former padawan of Pong Krell, became estranged from their Master after Jare's first mission, around the start of the war--they fucked up severely. Krell devises a punishment for them: Jailbird Squad. A squad of useful specialist clone troopers who happen to also be deliquents themselves. They are tasked with the Republic's dirty, secret work for powerful political figures, and are expected to take the fall in the event of a failure. Jare must succeed as a leader, or they'll condemn themselves and the Jailbirds to death!
On top of the crate are Doodles and Judge, Knower and Theory are standing, and seated in front are general Jare and sergeant Burner.
They all have tags on my blog with art and funny posts so you can get to know them better. I'm currently editing a short story about Knower and his popstar ex-girlfriend, Seela.
More about the Jailbirds:
Doodles was a trooper who had been enrolled in a sniper assassin program after completing his basic training. Just before completing his final exam and shipping out, he was caught creating a massive graffiti mural on the side of the facility. He was forced to scrub it off by hand overnight--hardly anyone saw what it was, and there are only rumors about it now. Doodles can be anxious to the point of paranoia, and instead of producing the typical "run away!" type of cowardly behavior, he gets the "low-empathy fight-response" type of coward behavior. He's charming as a defense mechanism to cover for this, has a very sharp tongue, is very artistically gifted, doesn't sleep much, and struggles with vulnerability.
Judge is a medic with slicer cross-training. He was caught breeding and selling genetically modified hounds to wealthy patrons over the holonet. He was literally keeping the first puppies inside of a panel in the medbay. There were three, and the two remaining pups he failed to sell before he got caught were allowed to remain his responsibility, because of their uniquely biddable dispositions and remarkable genetic enhancements. He named them Jury and Executioner. Judge was also selling drugs and gambling over the holonet, but they never caught him for that because he's actually GOOD at slicing. Less good at hiding puppies. He's aloof and standoffish at first and prefers to keep his helmet on. He likes big tight hugs, loud fast music, and being in charge. He's got a bit of the god-complex doctors get sometimes. If his experiments hadn't been so useful, he knows he would have been executed for his defective behavior, so it can take a while to get through his tough shell.
Knower is a capable pilot and mechanic who had a messy affair with the nefarious Senator Tusk's beautiful popstar wife, Seela. He was assigned to jailbird squad after the senator demanded he be executed for his crimes. Knower is sweet, romantic, and just wants to be loved for who he really is... But he just can't catch a break. He's always picking the wrong woman (or man, or creature...) to be vulnerable with, and he's a bit of a relationship parasite. He just loves love, ok!? He's flirty. He's silly. He's dramatic. And he's doomed to be tortured by the narrative because I love him too much.
Theory is fucking shredded. Theory beat the shit out of a higher-ranking clone while they were both drunk, because he disagreed strongly about the tactics that the sarge was advocating for--due to personal experience. He had a history of outbursts, so instead of wasting his skills he was assigned to Jailbird squad. Theory is a bit physically stronger than other clones, not due to genetic variables, but due to his annoying preoccupation with personal improvement. He loves to read, he has a sunshiney attitude even when he's very angry, he respects women, and he talks like an annoying twitter leftist because he thinks he can enact praxis from within the system (bless him).
Sergeant Burner is a former clone commander, who embarrassed himself and an entire system by pissing on a memorial monument. It was dark, it looked like a big rock in the woods, there was no signage... He was demoted to sergeant and shuffled off to Jailbird squad anyway. He considers himself to be a model trooper despite his mistake, and dedicates himself to his new role immediately--and to the general specifically. He considers loyalty to be about the same as love, and confuses the two often. He is having a not-so-secret affair with the general that the squad is well aware of.
General Jare is the leader of Jailbird squad. They are quick with everything, especially jokes, and they love to laugh (even when it might not be appropriate). Having been trained by Master Krell, they are remarkably well-equipped to handle the pressures of their new job, but the warped interpretation of the Jedi Code passed onto them by their Master cause them considerable internal struggles. Jare has moderate chronic pain and a few mental conditions, just like me. They are very bisexual and smoke a shitload of avabush.
Clone troopers love customizing their looks. Since other people seldom see much of them beside their heads; the focus on hair, makeup, and tattoos is perfectly logical. It has nothing to do with how that color looks on the General's neck.
Drawn on a promotional photo of Jane Fonda and Anthony Perkins.
"Oh, I could just kiss you!" General Jare exclaimed. "I can't believe you got this back for me after I lost it again," they added as they clipped their lightsaber back to their belt.
Burner rolled over to face the General as they grabbed the edge of the couch. Nobody would be finishing the datawork tonight.
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"Sorry about the slobber," Judge said. "Good thing I like hounds," Jare replied, and placed their hand on his knee as Judge leaned in.
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"You smell like engine grease." Jare looked down at Knower as he knelt beneath his BARC speeder. Knower smiled and asked, "Wanna find out if I taste like it, too?"
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"I thought one of you would've stomped on it by now!" Jare shouted over the music. "That's not a proper thank you," Doodles shouted back and tapped a finger to his lips. Jare leaned over Burner's head. Burner daydreamed about facing the other way around.
---
"Kissing your hero is a bit of a problematic trope," Theory told the general, placing a hand on the back of their neck and stepping closer. "You're a bit of a problematic trope," Jare replied and grabbed the trooper by the waist.
“uncle jules tell us how general jare survived order66!!!”
well it’s simple, really. by the time the end of the war rolled around, jare’s corruptive anti-authoritarian influence (drugs and crazy sex) had so thoroughly addled their brains that when the comm came in, they didn’t even think it was real. burner just hurled the commlink six meters into the air, whereupon doodles 360 no-scope’d it. judge said it was worth two kills, easily
General Jare: [insecure over narrowly avoiding the strict definition of a war crime, unaware of who knows what]
Well it's been great meeting you all... Given my uh, personal history, I consider it my responsibility to earn your trust. Though I may be the first Jedi you've encountered who's felt the need to do so, just humor me, okay?
Sergeant Burner: [interpreting this as a declaration of undying love]
I-we-, General we JUST met. Could you give us some time to get to know each other first!?
General Jare: [interpreting this as an absolute rejection and confirmation that their reputation is ruined forever]
I knew this would happen. Oh living fucking force. If I don't kill myself now, my Master will do it for me.
Sergeant Burner: [interpreting this as a botched attempt at some sort of arranged marriage]
Well I guess I was just upset by how forward you were, is all. You could have explained yourself before proposing.
General Jare: What
Sergeant Burner: What
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My idea
... Is that some clone troopers may conflate their ideas of loyalty and love because of their limited non-combat life experience. To these romantic little goobers, "proving my loyalty to you is my duty" is identical to "I love you." Maybe it's a common misinterpretation of something a bounty hunter said during their training.
For Burner, this would be like if his sexy new boss held up a boombox blasting "Call Me Maybe" and told him he's The One.
For Jare, this would be like if their worst nightmare was real and asked to run away together
